Chirk AAA’s FAW Trophy winning captain Pearce revels in glory
Chirk AAA captain Phil Pearce has expressed in delight after the clubs extra-time win at Park Avenue on Saturday, which saw them lift the FAW Trophy.
For Pearce it’s a great moment for him individually, winning the trophy for his hometown club, as well as the history his family has had with the club, it etches his name in history.
“It’s feels great on a personal level, you can’t beat winning trophies especially when it’s with you mates. It’s still sinking in at the moment that we actually won the Welsh Trophy.
It’s even extra special for me as it my hometown club and my family have a lot of history with this great club and Chirk AAA had gone 54 years without winning it ! It was a lovely feeling that I actually got to lift that cup, so to be apart of making more history at the club is great.”
Pearce took to social media to express his delight on the FAW Trophy glory, along with many team mates.
No Monday blues for me I’m still buzzing my head off from Saturday 🏆⚽️@CHIRKAAAFC 🙊 what a feeling !! pic.twitter.com/R1MUjtkyDZ
— Phil Pearce✌ (@PhilPearce91) April 10, 2017
The Welsh National League side went behind originally as Luke Chappel opened the scoring for Penlan but Matty Thomas equalised for Chirk, sending the game into extra time. Pearce said that his managers words of encouragement was to continue playing the game they had been, despite trailing.
“The message of the manager was just to stay calm and keep playing the same way we have been but to up the tempo.
We knew we would get chances it was just a matter of time of taking them and the second half we did was very professional performance even in extra time.”
As Chris Bennon hit the winner, Pearce knew that they would go on to win the trophy but also had the joy for Bennion who had suffered defeat in a few finals, so for him it was joy for his team mate.
“My feeling was that we were actually going to win the Welsh trophy. The whole place erupted when that went in! I was happy for Chris Bennion because he hasn’t had any luck in these finals till this one played in 3 and lost 3 so him to score the winner in his 4th final to win it for us must of been a great feeling for him.”
Asked on if this could be motivation for the club to perform better in the league next season as they can boast being one of North Wales’ best sides, Pearce agreed that it could be used.
“We haven’t really done ourselves justice in the league this year for the squad we have. Our consistency gone out the window at times, so we will definitely be looking at challenging for the league next year.”
Just three years ago, Chirk had the opportunity to win the Trophy then but lost 3-2 to Llanrug United, a lot of the squad have remained with the club since then, making this moment even sweeter, after suffering disappointment.
“It’s very rewarding a few of us had played in that final and could still remember how horrible it was walking past that trophy and not being able to touch it.
This time round to go on to win it and to lift it and celebrate with the fans and committee who travelled was great. As we arrived back in Chirk, we also received a massive guard of honour back in Chirk which was a great reception and give the whole town a buzz. That kind of feeling is those you just want to bottle up.”
You can catch the highlights of the match, courtesy of the Football Association of Wales.
(Featured Image: Shelia Griffiths)
